MIFFLIN, Ohio — Log by log, a house in the Village of Mifflin on state Route 603 was dismantled by local volunteers and Purdy Construction workers on Friday. The logs will be stored at the Richland County Fairgrounds for the winter and then moved to South Park in Mansfield, where they will be used for the reconstruction of the house next spring.
Volunteers who helped complete the Mansfield Blockhouse in 2010 are spearheading this project. They’re known as “REACH” (Richland Early American Center for History) and are in the process of becoming a 501(c)3 organization.
Sunda Peters, project coordinator and president of REACH, said the group intends to reconstruct the log house adjacent to the Blockhouse in South Park to serve as an educational center for teachers, students and the general public, as well as a unique meeting place for various groups.
Peters said REACH became aware of the log house, which sits near the intersection of state Route 603 and 430, last fall and purchased it from the former owner in February.
She said it was previously covered with three layers of siding, including wood, shingles and vinyl. Between March and August of this year, the siding was removed and the inside of the log house was deconstructed.
The date the house was built is unknown.
“I figure sometime between 1813 and 1831 is when the log cabin was built,” she estimated.
There’s also little information available about the history of the house, she said.
“There are people living today who know their ancestors lived in Mifflin and lived in log cabin, but they don’t which house it was,” she said. “There are also no maps of Mifflin from that time period.”
Todd Wurthmann, owner of Purdy Construction, provided equipment and extra workers at no charge to help with the deconstruction.
He said they’ve handled deconstruction projects before and that Friday’s “wasn’t that difficult.” His biggest concern, he said, was safety “because there’s a lot of people who’ve never worked around a crane before.”
He predicted that they’d have the house deconstructed by 2 p.m. that afternoon. “There’s not that much there to do–not when you have the right equipment,” he said.
He added that he’d love to help reassemble the log pieces back together in the spring.
Tom Pappas with REACH was grateful for Purdy Construction’s help, noting, “This is tremendous having them here to help us.”
Pappas said when it comes time for reconstruction, they intend to build the house back to its original state.
He said they also plan on building a fireplace so people can hold different events, like a period cooking event.
This project, which is funded solely by donations, will be on hiatus during the winter. During that time, REACH hopes to raise enough money to build a foundation for the house and then reconstruct it in the spring.
Those wishing to donate may send a check to Richland County Genealogical Society, 611 State Route 97 West, Bellville, OH 44813-8813. Please fill “Log House” on the check’s memo line.
Doug Versaw, one of the volunteers, is excited to see this project come to fruition.
“I think for youth especially this is going to be great because they can learn more about history,” he said. “And hopefully we can get some youth out there when we start assembling it so they can see how it’s put together.”
